SECOND EMBER DAY OF CREATION
20 September 2013
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Lev. 23:26 “The day of atonement… shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to [the Lord].”
Luke 7:48-49: [Jesus said to the woman,] “‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Those who sat at the table with him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’”
Reflection
Leviticus 16 describes ancient Israel’s ritual for the Day of Atonement. After slaughtering the sin offerings and sprinkling their blood, the High Priest is to lay his hands on a live goat, confess Israel’s rebellion and wickedness, and then have the goat, the “scapegoat”, banished into the desert. Anyone who reads this chapter (and indeed most of Leviticus) is immediately struck by the attention to absolute cleanliness. Fire must consume what’s left of the sin offerings, that is, the bull and the goat, along with the clothing worn by the man who had escorted the scapegoat into the desert. The overall impression is that this is a very “dirty” day.
We live in a time in which we’re expected to own up to our own responsibilities, answer for our own mistakes, and make amends for our own offenses. The idea that our sins, faults, and transgressions can be transferred onto another creature, an innocent one at that, might therefore sound a little ridiculous to us today. But doesn’t it also sound a little familiar?
“Substitutionary atonement” is the technical term for this teaching, and has come to be one of the ways through which the Church has understood the crucifixion of Jesus. “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” is perhaps the most concise description of this—but see Paul for details! And being “washed in the blood of the Lamb” or drinking “the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation” is certainly the same type of language found in Leviticus, even if we understand it now to be more symbolic than literal. But the questions remain: How moral is it for us to cast our sins onto someone else? Wouldn’t God prefer that we fess up to our own failings?
While meditating on these questions, I kept coming back to our own imperfect human nature. How often have we been blamed for someone else’s misdeeds? How often have we returned the favor? Or, arguably worse, how often do we refuse to forgive ourselves for a wrong we’ve committed? We tend to scapegoat our neighbor with our own faults, or we exile our own selves off into a desert of unforgivable sin.
God wants neither of these two extremes for any of his children, only forgiveness, healing, and wholeness. The Day of Atonement provided ancient Israel with a visible face onto which they could cast what they otherwise might’ve preferred to keep hidden. But ultimately, for us, the story of Jesus echoes what the Psalmist long ago urged us: “Cast your burden on [the Lord], and he will sustain you” (Ps. 55:22). God himself, in the face of Jesus, desires to be our scapegoat. God prefers to step in and take on what we would throw upon someone else. The burdens which weigh us down, we must release, not into some dry, scorching desert, and definitely not onto our neighbor, but into the warm and nourishing embrace of God’s infinite love. There can be no better healing than that.
Prayer of the Day
God and Father! On this great day, the Sabbath of the soul, your children, wherever they dwell, gather in sanctuaries to rededicate themselves to you. We come into your presence with a sense of our unworthiness. We have yielded to temptations and gone astray after the devices of our hearts, heedless of your holy will. You who are glorious in holiness, whose love is boundless, purify our hearts and direct our thoughts to you. Kindle within us a steadfast faith that shall dispel the darkness of doubt and confusion.
Father of mercies! We do not pray for ourselves alone, but for all your children. May the recognition of our own failings lead us to be patient with the shortcomings of others, and may every virtue which you have implanted within us reveal to us the dignity and sanctity of each human being. Every soul is precious in your sight; every life is your gift. Though one person is often set against another, one nation against another, teach us the common kinship of all humanity. Cleanse us from falsehood and selfishness; remove from us hatred and cruelty which blight human life. Unite us in a fellowship of service to you and to our neighbor.
—from the Morning Service for Atonement Day, Union Prayer Book of Reform Judaism, 1945, pp. 170-171
Hymn: “Forgive us, Lord, we turn today”
(Words: Florence Montefiore in the Union Hymnal of Reform Judaism, 1936; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2013
Tune: Samuel Alman, based on a traditional Yom Kippur mode)
Forgive us, Lord, we turn today,
Renew our days, our grief is sore.
Your pardon and your mercy stay
On us, O Lord, for evermore.
You give upon this day of days
New birth to every stricken soul,
“Return to me,” your mandate says,
“And I will heal you, make you whole.”
We are your sheep within your fold,
Remember not our sinful past!
Grant us remission as of old,
Accept the offering of our fast.
Today your children, penitent,
With contrite hearts before you stand.
Be ever more beneficent,
Stretch over us your pardoning hand.
Forgive us, Lord! We would atone.
O save us, save us, Lord most high!
We have no help but you alone,
And Israel calls—O hear their cry!
Amen.
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